UG! I have been submerged for what seems like ages now, tippy tapping away on the book based on this blog plus extra bonus stories about me and my family. The deadline is next week and so far I think it's going well. C is being delightful and takes Tricky away for hours during the day which helps alot. Tricky being on solids is also helpful because I suck at pumping (strange juxtaposition of terms there.)
We have had a few days in Newcastle which was jolly as ever. Grumpy Grandad, now living in a retirement home that we are not allowed to call a retirement home referring to it only as The Lodge)visited and gave Tricky the kangaroo keyring he was given by The Lodge nurses on Australia Day.
In a sort of sad reflective moment he unwound it from his walker so I could hang it on the stroller. The kangaroo held an Australian flag and my Grandad said that was good because "IT'S NEVER TOO SOON TO WAVE THE FLAG" (yes, even The Lodge can't stop him speaking in capitals). Of course, after he left I removed the little Australian flag and threw it away. I did this because I think there are enough dickheads out there waving the flag in a very strident and unpleasant manner, exhorting passersby to 'kiss the flag', and usually drunk, sun burned and violent. But also the pole part of the flag was a lethally sharpened toothpick and I don't think we give those to babies anymore.
Despite this, GG was lovely. Flaky and shouty but lovely, referring to Tricky as mate and offering him a ride on his walker or a slide on his walking stick. This time he was wearing longer pants which was a good effort but sadly still failed to hide his catheter. I noticed when flicking through all the christmas photos my dad took and helpfully burned onto a cd for me that The Catheter is apparant in every single photo that also features my Grandad. Like Cate and Andrew, you just can't separate those two.
While in Newcs I also told my Dad about the car exploding out front and failing to wake us up. We have since learned that when the police, ambos and fire engines arrived they didn't actually have sirens going (why? is it really that common in our suburb??) but even so you would think the sound of windows blowing out, petrol igniting, roaring flames and people standing on the footpath saying "oh my god" a lot would have disturbed our slumber. My Dad then reminded me that last year the HOUSE next door to theirs was firebombed and yet my dad and stepmother slept through the whole thing. For some reason I felt reassured by that. It's obviously in the genes.
Meanwhile Tricky is bounding through a range of wholesome strained foods. It is delightful seeing his little mouth open into a tiny o and then seeing a spoon piled high with mush disappear within. Perhaps a little too delightful, after a large quantity of vomiting this evening C and I worked out that we may be feeding him a little too much. The words 'goose', 'funnel', 'engorged liver' and 'fois gras' come to mind.
Back to the grindstone.
Whole lot of nothing going on
2 months ago
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12 comments:
I love the image of tricky's mouth open to receive wholesome and brightly coloured strained vegatables. Glad to hear all is well and v excited to eventually read your book!
Pardon my ignorance...but are firebombs common place in Australia? Yikes!
My little one is obsessed with food now and when she eats she starts saying, "mmmmm!" It is amazing how quickly they change!
Glad your book is progressing well.
I loved feeding my brothers when they were babies because of the O of their mouths. You brought back so many happy moments for me with that description.
You checked in on my site during a sucky post... the new post is from a happier place.
Not nearly as happy a place as where you are, fire bombs and all. Tricky is lucky.
Ova Girl, I'm a little concerned at the number of fire-bombings going on in your area. Are you sure you don't live in the middle east somewhere?
So glad little Tricky is thriving and that you had a good visit with GG. His catheter showing makes me sad, though. Loss of dignity is one of the hardest parts of sickness and old age. I felt very protective of my grandmother when she was dying because of her helpessness. She had always been so strong and in control...changing her diapers hurt me almost as much as it hurt her.
Ova Girl, I'm a little concerned about the amount of firebombings in your area. Are you sure you don't live in the middle east?
I'm glad that Tricky is thriving and that GG is doing the same. His catheter makes me sad. Loss of dignity in old age is so hard to bear.
hehehe... you suck at pumping... You have such a great way of putting things.
I don't know if it's a good thing or not that your sleeping like the dead is genetic!
I love GG. He sounds like such a cool guy.
y'know, your foie gras point made me wonder if perhaps i've been a little generous with ye olde bebe food lately...yikes. force-fattened baby. perhaps i'll cut back on O's tasty mush just a bit so he doesn't start to feel a tragic kinship with French geese.
love your posts, Ovagirl.
I applaud your removal of the National flag from Tricky’s young grasp (lethally sharp pointy bits notwithstanding). I’m afraid I find patriotism of any kind makes me both saddened and slightly queasy. I’ve done a lot of traveling in my life and have been lucky enough to spend a fair bit of time living in different countries. In each place the locals are convinced that their country is the best – but I’m damned if I can figure out why they feel this way other than that they happen to have been born there.
I was born and raised in New Zealand and, while I agree that it’s a lovely country etc etc, I also agree with the notion that it’s probably the only Third World country where you can drink the water. I can’t put my hand on my heart and say it is any better than anywhere else. All countries have good and bad sides - just like people.
Believing that your country is the best means that by default you think that everybody else’s is worse. And if their countries are worse then their people must be sub-standard as well. And if their people are sub-standard then why the hell should they have all the sandy beaches/good skiing/piles of oil?
It boggles my mind how people can be so foolish as to believe they are better or more deserving than others simply because they were born on dirt ‘x’ instead of rock ‘y’.
(Apologies for the rant – hippy parents, you understand…)
Oh, and keep writing.
Hope the final push on the book is going very well. What will you do with your time when you are done?
ohhhh! I didn't realize that you were writing a book. YAY!!! Can not wait for it to be available.
(fyi - I moved my blog)
I'm so excited to hear you are writing a book based on your blog! Yippee! Please let us know the details when they are available. I'm also curious about the firebombings--is that commonplace in Australia? I thought we were violent here in the US but I have never heard of a firebomb in a residential area!
The book? I had no idea there was a book in the works! Details, please .... publisher? Title? Wow!
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